Benedict Cumberbatch Reveals His Reaction When He Got The Role Of Doctor Strange

When Benedict Cumberbatch was cast as Doctor Strange, no one was surprised by the cheers that erupted after the news broke. Fans had been eyeing the British actor for years, hoping that he’d sign on to star in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As for Benedict’s reaction? Well, he was apparently scared by the whole ordeal.

During a set visit to Doctor Strange, ComicBook.com spoke with Benedict where the actor confessed he was nervous about getting the role.

“I was probably too scared to look into the whole fan thriving of it,” he said, referencing the fans and their reaction to his casting. “I am flattered that people thought I was a good fit and maybe that resonated with the guys upstairs. It was hard, at a point, because of scheduling on both sides of the Atlantic, so I’m just really thrilled. It’s a massive compliment to me.”

If anything, the excited reaction Benedict got from fans was a vindicating moment. The actor spoke about how he struggled to nail down the role because to schedule conflicts with Sherlock and a stage production of Hamlet. As Benedict grew more popular, his life became so hectic that both he and Kevin Feige worried whether the actor could shoot Doctor Strange.

In fact, the Marvel Studios President spoke about the tricky situation in an interview earlier this year. Kevin said that Benedict was someone who Marvel was interested in for awhile but “he kept getting more and more popular!”

“He kept getting more popular, and more popular, and he kept getting busier, and busier, and it looked like the timing wasn’t going to work. So we looked at some other actors for a while and ultimately decided, ‘We have to try and make it work with Benedict and with his schedule.’ Which is why we shifted the production schedule around.”

Benedict spoke about the production delay and said it gave him “another reason to deliver every day, to fulfill that promise” he made to his fans and co-stars.

As Doctor Strange will hit theaters next month, the actor says his nerves are gradually turning into excitement. But Benedict did admit he was very nervous to shoot his Doctor Strange cover for Entertainment Weekly.

The actor talked about the shoot and said he was scared because the photo was of him. “It’s not a drawing, it’s not an artist. It’s me there, and I’m kind of frightened, but it seemed to go down really well,” he explained.

“Kevin and everyone was happy and I just kind of stepped back and went, great, now we’ve just got to do the job. That way you can try and own part of it.”

Marvel’s Doctor Strange follows the story of the talented neurosurgeon Doctor Stephen Strange who, after a tragic car accident, must put ego aside and learn the secrets of a hidden world of mysticism and alternate dimensions. Based in New York City’s Greenwich Village, Doctor Strange must act as an intermediary between the real world and what lies beyond, utilizing a vast array of metaphysical abilities and artifacts to protect the Marvel cinematic universe.

Doctor Strange will hit theaters on November 4 2016.